"STELZER,MELINDA (Non-HP-PaloAlto,ex1)":
> I was reading the discussion below concerning two different ways of
handling
> pages that use a dropdown, or "combo box" control as a navigation tool.
In
> one method, the user must press the form button to cause the browser to
go
> to the new destination, and in the other method, the "OnChange"
javascript
> event causes the choice to take effect as soon as the selection is made.
>
> I am trying to assess whether using the OnChange event to activate
dropdown
> navigation controls is accessible or not. According to Charles, Jaws
users
> often have problems with it.
I have problems with it using regular IE*, with no special Access
Technology.
> There is a work around: pressing "ALT-DownArrow" will produce the effect
of
> pressing the mouse button and holding it, and allow the user to
subsequently
> browse the dropdown with the arrow keys, without activating the OnChange
> event. Freedom Scientific says their users generally know this
technique.
> Is it true?
I don't (well I do, but it's not a mechanism I use, and I have no external
way of knowing if I need to for a dropdown box, however if you use onclick
rather than onchange, you get near similar functionality without the
problem - you still need a submit button - but then you need one of those
for the non-javascript people or people who have javascript but no
onclick/onchange event support.
Jim.
* Okay it's actually a modified IE, but not modified with relation to
this.